1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to an IP phone system, and more particularly to a testing method and an apparatus applied to an IP phone system.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the popularity of network technology, a new telephone communication technology can be realized through the network. The IP phone which transmits data and audio/video service, has the advantages of low call and installation costs and easy expansion and has gradually been adopted by many international businesses.
Referring to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, schematic diagrams of a conventional IP phone system are respectively shown. The IP phone system 100 comprises an IP phone host 110 and an electronic device 120. Basically, the electronic device 120 is an optional device, and can be selectively connected to the IP phone host 110, such that the IP phone host 120 is equipped with more I/O ports and display function.
Basically, the IP phone host 100 has expansion ports 112 and 114 for connecting to other peripheral devices. The electronic device 120 can further be connected to the IP phone host 110, and can have more signal ports such as DVI video ports 121 and 122 and the USB ports 123, 124, 125, and 126 via which more peripheral devices can be plugged to the electronic device 120.
Referring to FIG. 2, a schematic diagram of the power supply of an IP phone system is shown. In the part of the IP phone system 100, the plug 132 of the power supply (power adapter) 130 is plugged to an AC power for providing a DC voltage (such as 48V) to the IP phone host 110 which is connected to the electronic device 120 via the spine cable 116. The spine cable 116 has eight signal lines, namely, a 5V signal line (SP_Vbus—5V), two none signal lines (none), a grounding signal line (GND), a detecting signal line (SP_Vbus_Det), a 1-wire signal line (1-wire), a 48V signal line (SP—48V), and a 48V return signal line (SP—48V_Ret).
Basically, the electronic device 120 does not have its own power supply, and the power supply relies on the IP phone host 110 which provides a 48V DC voltage to the electronic device 120 via two signal lines (SP—48V and SP—48V_Ret) of the cable 116.
Moreover, the electronic device 120 further comprises a micro-controller 128, and a DC converter 127. The DC converter 127 receives the 48V signal line (SP—48V) and the 48V return signal line (SP—48V_Ret) and converts 48V voltage into various DC voltages (such as +5V, +3.3V, +1.8V) provided for other circuit elements (not illustrated) of the electronic device 120 to use. In addition, the micro-controller 128 receives the 5V signal line (SP_Vbus—5V), the detecting signal line (SP_Vbus_Det), and the 1-wire signal line (1-wire). The micro-controller 128 powered by a 5V voltage provided by the 5V signal line (SP_Vbus—5V) determines whether the IP phone host 110 is plugged to a power source according to the power level of the detecting signal line (SP_Vbus_Det).
Since the power provided by the power supply 130 is limited and both the IP phone host 110 and the electronic device 120 can be connected to multiple peripheral elements, the power management of the IP phone host 110 must be effective.
For example, the power supply 130 provides a 25 W power to the IP phone host 110, the expansion port 112 of the IP phone host 110 is connected to a power-consuming 5 W first peripheral device (not illustrated), and the expansion port 114 is connected to a power-consuming 8 W second peripheral device (not illustrated). Therefore, the IP phone host 100 can provide at most a 12 W (25 W−5 W−8 W=12 W) voltage to the electronic device 120, and the IP phone host 110 transmits a 12 W power command to the micro-controller 128 of the electronic device 120 via the 1-wire signal line.
Alternatively, the expansion port 112 of the IP phone host 110 is connected to a power-consuming 8 W first peripheral device (not illustrated), but the expansion port 114 is not connected to any peripheral devices. Therefore, the IP phone host 100 can provide at most a 17 W (25 W−8 W=17 W) voltage to the electronic device 120, and the IP phone host 110 transmits a 17 W power command to the micro-controller 128 of the electronic device 120 via the 1-wire signal line.
Alternatively, both the expansion ports 112 and 114 of the IP phone host 110 are not connected to any peripheral devices. Therefore, the IP phone host 100 can provide at most a 25 W voltage to the electronic device 120, and the IP phone host 110 transmits a 25 W power command to the micro-controller 128 of the electronic device 120 via the 1-wire signal line.
When the micro-controller 128 of the electronic device 120 receives multiple power commands via the 1-wire signal line, the micro-controller 128 must perform suitable adjustment otherwise the electronic device 120 will be unable to operate normally. For example, when the micro-controller 128 receives a 25 W power command, the micro-controller 128 turns on all of the DVI ports 121 and 122 and the USB ports 123, 124, 125, and 126, and when the micro-controller 128 receives a 17 W power command, the micro-controller 128 turns on only some of the DVI ports 121 and 122 and the USB ports 123, 124, 125, and 126.
Since the power of the electronic device 120 is controlled by the IP phone host 110, the micro-controller 128 of the electronic device 120 needs to control the DVI ports 121 and 122 and the USB ports 123, 124, 125, and 126 in response to the power command issued by the IP phone host 110.
It can be known from the above disclosure that during the manufacturing process, the testing process of the electronic device 120 requires an IP phone host 110, and the testing process requires extra peripheral devices which are plugged to/unplugged from the expansion ports 112 and 114 of the IP phone host 110, such that the IP phone host 110 generates multiple power commands with various values. The testing personnel determine whether the electronic device 120 correctly controls the DVI ports 121 and 122 and the USB ports 123, 124, 125, and 126 according to multiple power commands with various values.
However, the above testing process is complicated and time consuming, the testing personnel need to have the peripheral devices plugged to/unplugged from the expansion ports 112 and 114 of the IP phone host 110 during the testing process of the electronic device 120. Therefore, the invention aims to make the testing process of the electronic device 120 more convenient and effective is what achieve.